The Void Left
by insomnolence
Summary: "She stopped in front of the dragon, her eyes searching for a figure perched upon the saddle decorating the black scales. The saddle was empty."
1. Chapter One

The smoke was everywhere.

It was like an impending storm, ready to invade her lungs and take her breath away, but she did not care. /spanA stinging sensation filled her nostrils and eyes, but she kept on relentlessly pushing forward through the thick, poisonous fog. Frantically, her eyes roamed the battlefield, on which a battle had just been raging on a minute ago.

 _Oh Gods, save him_ , she pleaded desperately as she searched.

Dread was settled deep in the pit of her stomach and she could practically feel sobs perched on her tongue, ready to be let out in a horrifying and strangled manner. Her eyes searched for any sign of him, but to no avail. There was nothing. Nothing at all that indicated he was there, alive, well, okay. The smoke cleared ever so slightly, letting her barely spot a black speck in the endless heat of fire and dancing particles of ash. _Toothless_ , she thought, letting a breath out, she hadn't even realized she had been holding in.

She stumbled forward, her legs shaking and tired, aching and her stomach churning. She ran and ran nearer, carefully making sure to not trip over the remains of the gigantic dragon that had almost destroyed them.

"Where is he?" she frantically asked the dragon, who, of course, could not answer. She stopped in front of the dragon, her eyes searching for a figure perched upon the saddle decorating the black scales.

The saddle was empty.

Astrid stumbled back, gasping in a breath.

She felt utterly numb.

 _He..._

She felt tears stream down her face, eyes burning and the salty liquid met her gtongue, her nose running.

"No," she muttered and shook her head in denial.

She screamed out.

Guttural sobs wracked her body, tears streamed down her face as she screamed and shrieked and cried. She barely registered how the animal before her cried out, as if crying with her. She looked into those green eyes. Those green eyes, that were so much alike Hiccup's.

" _I hate you! You useless monster! Why didn't you save him?! How could you let this happen?!_ " she wrangled out at the reptile, but she knew the hate she was feeling was't for the unholy offspring, but for the world, the beast of a dragon called 'Red Death', her friends, her tribe, her chief, _herself_.

Even Hiccup.

She hated him for being amazing, for taking a piece of her with him into Valhalla, for being so damn heroic and selfless.

For saving all, but himself.

* * *

 **This could be the first chapter of what might be a two-shot, if you guys want it to be! Hope you enjoyed it and be sure to let me know what you thought of it!**

 **-flaminia**


	2. Chapter Two

Astrid opened her eyes.

She blinked drearily, taking a deep breath of humid air; a drizzle of rain was to be seen when looking out the window.

The shield maiden was home again.

At first, she was blissfully unaware of what had happened. The only thing that existed was this moment, the here and now, the peaceful serenity of feeling the humid, storm-brewing atmosphere.

Then, the memories flooded in, as if trying to drown her in their magnitude and weight. Green eyes, black scales, huge dragons, smoke - _so much smoke -,_ ash and then nothing.

A lone tear made its way down her face, streaking through the beautiful warrior's face.

 _Oh, Hiccup, you stupid daredevil idiot._

* * *

She did not know why she went to the cove.

Maybe she wanted to get away from all the gloominess of her tribe; maybe she knew the dragon would be there, grieving; maybe she just wanted to feel something besides this awful, all-consuming grief; maybe she just wanted to feel Hiccup: his presence, so strong and known, that it could never fully fade.

At first, the black-scaled reptile did not make itself present, until she made a move to leave; from the shadows it jumped, teeth bared and eyes not round and kind, but a thin, ferocius oval.

"Toothless," Astrid breathed.

He growled.

"I miss him too."

The dragon stopped in its tracks. Its demeanor of unfriendliness disappeared and with it did the oval eyes. The night fury seemed deeply shaken.

"I cried today. I've never really been a crier. It was... weird. Yeah, it was weird. The stickiness, the wetness, the mess it caused; most of all the ache that wouldn't stop burning in the pit of my stomach even after I had cried out all the liquids in my system."

The reptile stared at her.

"I love him too. And, because he loved you, I'll help you."

* * *

It took a long time to figure out what Hiccup's designs meant. They were complicated and advanced; too advanced for someone who had no experience with being a blacksmith, so she rallied up Gobber and Fishlegs and together they encrypted Hiccup's ideas.

But, as it turns out, creating the ultimate tailfin for a night fury was not quite as easy as just that. She had to find out a way to help Toothless permanently; the iron could be made of Gronckle Iron, which Fishlegs had recently discovered, but normal fabric would not suffice.

They needed something sturdy, that could withstand most anything. Dragon skin was the first thing to come to mind, but she had a feeling Toothless would mind wearing the skin of a dead dragon, even if it had been killed before peace had been declared. _Unless..._ , Astrid pondered, a special dragon popping into her mind. They had just discovered it a few days ago; it shed its skin periodically, like a snake, the thought making Astrid shudder. She despised snakes.

For hours she watched as Gobber finished the tailfin, the created device truly genius.

She knew Hiccup had been smart, but as she had lain her eyes on his exact, fine drawings, she felt a twinge of pride for the hidden genius he had posessed.

And as she held the finished masterpiece, she _knew_ , this was what Hiccup would have wanted.

* * *

 **disclaimer: I do not own How To Train Your Dragon**

 **I was going to add a scene in which astrid attaches the tailfin to toothless and he flies away, etc., but I liked this ending :c**

 **so a few reviews wanted a continual with hiccup alive. it was never my intention keeping hiccup alive in this story and I believed that it didn't come across as if he still _could_ be. but, if greatly demanded, I might post an alternative version with hiccup alive... what do you guys say? **

**-flaminia**


End file.
